


Dismissed, Grimes

by Sternenzauber



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Character Death, Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Negan isnt great either, Ron Anderson is an awesome friend, Suicide, villain! Rick Grimes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-10
Updated: 2018-04-10
Packaged: 2019-04-21 05:40:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,750
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14278086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sternenzauber/pseuds/Sternenzauber
Summary: Something is wrong with Carl. Ron knows it. If anybody would just listen...





	Dismissed, Grimes

„Mr. Negan?“  
The coach looked up from his paperwork.  
„Anderson. How can I help you?“ Negan supressed a sigh. It was almost four o clock. The kid couldnt have had a better timing. Now he would be late for coffee time with his wife. What on earth could Anderson want anyway? Probably he would be trying to get out of the extra training he had settled for next week.  
Ron stood there, fidgeting, clearly upset about something.   
„Out with it, Anderson, i m not a mindreader. Yet“, the coach tried to joke to lighten the mood. But it didnt help.  
„I…I wanted to talk to you on behalf of Carl, sir.“  
Carl…Carl…  
„The Grimes kid?“  
„Yes.“  
„What about him? He isnt failing gym. Yet. And he hasnt had a run in with my paddle in like…“ Negan checked the file real quick…“ever?“  
„Thats not what i mean“, Ron lost his patience.  
And Negan lost his too: „Then what the hell do you mean, Anderson?“  
Now the boy clearly had gotten upset. „I…I mean, could you…could you please have an eye out for Carl? Something isnt right, I know it, I just cant put my finger on it.“  
„Have an eye out for Carl?“ Negan knew it wasnt nice to mock. But he couldnt help himself. He started to chuckle lowly.   
Ron stood up abruptly. „Coming here was a mistake. I m sorry I did disturb you, sir. Have a good afternoon, sir.“  
„You are leaving when I dismiss you, Anderson!“ Negan thundered.   
The boy stood frozen in his place and turned slightly towards his gymteacher. Just for a second Negan thought he had caught something in Rons eyes.  
„Dismissed, Anderson.“  
The boy turned around and fled.   
Negan shoke his head and put away Carls file.   
What was a glimmer of hope doing in Andersons eyes anyway? In this school all hope was dying under some carpet.   
Negans stomach growled. Time for coffee. 

Negan walked through the changing room slowly. The boys around him were busy.  
„Have you seen my socks?“  
„Borrow some from the lost and found box.“  
„Ew, no thank you.“  
„Can I borrow your shower gel later?“  
„Sure.“  
Negan noticed the empty place on the bench next to Ron.   
„Anderson, is Grimes sick today?“  
„No, sir. He is in the toilett. Said he needed some more space.“  
„Changing room not good enough for his highness or what?“  
With three quick paces Negan stood infront of the restroom. He banged on the door and heared a yelp from inside.  
„Grimes! What are these antics about?! Get out of there and better make it quick!“  
The key in the lock turned and Carl opened the door. Negan reached out and caught Carl by the arm.   
„I dont know what this is about and I dont even want to know! You are undressing in the changing room with everybody else and thats it.“  
He only snapped out of his philippic when he heared carl whimpering. The boy was wiggeling in his grasp. Negan let go of his arm.   
„Whats the matter?“ And then he saw it.   
Bruises. Black, purple, blue, brown, yellow, all in shape of fingers.   
Oh my, did I grab him too tightly?  
„I…“  
„I m sorry, coach Negan, it wont happen again, I promise. I ll help you with cleaning up, later, yes?“ And with that Carl Grimes had disappeared into the gym. Negan stood there and stared into nothing. Maybe he had just dreamed the whole thing. 

„Are you still coming over tomorrow?“ Carl kicked a stone out of the way.   
Ron smiled. „Of course. Your offer to do math together still standing? Maybe your dad can help us?“  
Carl hugged his arms around his ribcage. „Yeah. Sure.“ He turned around, looked back at the school and sighed.   
„Sometimes i wished school would never end on afternoons, you know?“  
„What? Are you sick? Shall i get a doctor?“  
Carl laughed. „Yeah, sure.“  
His house came into view. Someone was standing on the porch.   
„I have to go. See you tomorrow.“  
Ron touched Carls shoulder. „Sure. Take care.“  
When Carl arrived at the porch, he was greeted with a slap over the head.   
Ron could hear the „Where the hell have you been?“ so loud and clear as if Rick Grimes was standing right infront of him instead of infront of his son a hundret meters away.  
Maybe he should have gone over and should have given Mr. Grimes a piece of his mind. Maybe he should have taken Carl back home with him.Maybe he should have done something. But he didnt do anything. All he did was standing there, frozen to the spot behind the tree in fear, until one of the dogs of the neighbourhood scared him away. 

In the evening, Ron was taking a little tour on his bike through the neighbourhood. It freed his head, helped him thinking clearer. When he passed by coach Negans house he remembered that his students where welcome there at Thursdays and indeed he heared laughing and chatting from the garage. Ron dropped his bike and knocked on the front door.  
„Good evening, mam, may I come in?“  
Lucille smiled: „Sure. They are over there. Help yourself to some juice from the fridge.“  
Ron strolled into the tidy, tiny kitchen. He looked out of the window and thought of Carl. He would like it at coach Negans place. Ron couldnt remember if Carl had ever been over.   
A flyer on the fridge caught Rons eye.  
„Dont turn a blind eye. Open your ears. Reach out. Lend a helping hand.“ A phone number. A child abuse hotline.   
Ron thought of Carl. His strange behaviour. The loud voice of his father. His gut feeling. He slipped the flyer into his pocket.

Carl seemed to drag his feet more and more the closer they came to his house.   
„Will we have to help your father with the cooking?“  
„We will have to do the cooking, I guess. Do you like pancakes? Judy loves them. I hope you dont mind, if we play with her a little?“  
Ron smiled. „Of course not. I love babies.“  
Said baby was crying inside. Carl fumbled with the key. „Hold on Judy, i m with you in just a second…“  
Ron frowened. Shouldnt Carls dad take care of his baby daughter?  
„Shut your trap you annoying little monster!“   
His friends fight with the door became frantic. Finally the lock gave way.   
„Hey Judy…“ Carl reached out to his sister. The little girl stopped crying when he came into view.  
„What the hell took you so long? And who…“  
„Thats Ron Anderson, dad. A friend from school. And i m sure he will take his shoes off. Right?“ He turned to Ron and smiled.  
„Good afternoon, Mr. Grimes.“  
The man just nodded his head peevishly. Carl held his hands out towards his sister and took her from his fathers arm. A slap landed on Carls bottom. Ron flinched in his stead. What the hell had that been for?  
Carl gestured to come along and Ron hurried to get out of the mans sight.

The baby played on the kitchen floor, Ron and Carl took turns in playing with her. After ten minutes, Judith held her arms out to Ron.   
„What does she want?“  
„Cuddles. She likes you.“  
After ten minutes Judy had fallen asleep in Rons arms.   
„Thanks for your help. Oh shit, ten minutes, lets get dinner on the road.“

Mr. Grimes didnt help with dinner. He just sat at the kitchen table and stared into his half empty glass of beer.   
„ Got any homework?“  
„Math, sir.“ Carl didnt look at him.  
„Well, get started on it.“  
Ron surpressed the question if they could do the homework in Carls room. Far far away from his dad. Something was…off. He had a bad feeling about it.

„What on earth is so difficult right now?!“  
Ron really had tried. He had tried not to jump when Rick Grimes had slammed his fist down on the table way too loudly. He had tried not to cover his hears when the father of his best friends had started shouting. He had tried not to see the scared look on his best friends face.  
But it hadnt worked.  
„I…I m sorry daddy…“ Carl flinched when his father stood up from his chair. And before Ron could do anything Rick Grimes had struck his son across the face. The force of the slap sent Carl to the ground. His chair fell with him.  
„Carl!“  
This had to be a nightmare. That couldnt be real. Carls father was the sheriffs deputy for gods sake! He of all people should know not to…  
„Carl? Are you hurt?“  
He never got an answer. 

„Sure i cant help you with anything else?“ He had allready helped with the dishes, with vacuuming, with doing the laundry and with taking care of Judith.   
Doing chores around the house was allright, but juggeling the houshold completly on his own seemed a bit absurd to Ron. Especially if a thirteen year old had to do it.  
Sure, with the mother gone, responsibilties shifted. But Ron wondered when Carl would go to sleep.   
„How about you get some rest or play with Judy while i fold the clothes?“  
„You ve got to be kidding.“ But Carl didnt laugh.   
Ron folded Ricks shirts. He traced his fingers over the hem of the light brown work uniform.   
„You know he is not supposed to do that. Right?“ He whispered.   
Carl looked at him as if he had never seen him before. „Not supposed to do what?“  
Carl stood over Judys crib and watched her sleep. He couldnt see Ron standing in the light of the street latern under his window.  
He didnt know that Ron heared Rick enter the room long before he did.   
He didnt know that Ron wanted to scream for help when he heared the blows raining down on his best friend.  
He didnt know that Ron Anderson drowned in desperation. 

„Please sir, may i come in?“  
„You again, Anderson.“ Negan took a sip of coffee.  
„Please sir, I…I called that…hotline i saw on your fridge.“  
Negan waited for a moment. „And?“  
„They…they said they cant do anything unless there is immedeat danger. What is immedeat danger, sir?“  
„Anderson, what exactly do you want me to do?“  
I wont cry infront of this man. I wont throw a fit infront of this man. I wont put my hands on his shoulders and shake him until there is some sense knocked back into his head. I wont.   
„I dont know, sir. I just think that Carl needs help, sir.“  
Negan took a sip of his coffee. And another. And then another. Until Ron had the urgent desire to knock the cup out of his hand.   
„You know, Anderson... Maybe Carl has some trouble at home. Most kids have. His father is a respected member of our society. He has allways shown up to parent teacher meetings, he sees to it that Carl does his homework. The family sure has had it rough since the mother died. But i m sure all will be allright in the end. And even if there were problems, growing up in a dysfunctional family is better than growing up without one at all.“  
Ron stared at his teacher. And he stared some more.   
Then he took a deep breath, took a step closer and reached a hand out to his teacher. „Please, sir…“  
„Thank you for your concern, Mr. Anderson. Dismissed.“  
Ron lowered his hand, hang his head and left. He couldnt fight the urgent desire to slamm the damn door.

„Mum? You know Carl and Judith Grimes, right?“  
„They live down the street, lost their mother, right? What about them?“ She played with one of his feathers absent mindedly.  
„I just wondered if…if they could stay here for a while?“  
Rons mum frowned. „Darling, where would they sleep?“  
„Carl can have my bed, I sleep on the couch and we bring the baby crib over.“  
„Sweetheart, what is this about? This is one of those jokes of yours, right?“  
„Mum, you see…their dad…“  
And then the phone rang.   
„Hang on darling, i ll be right back. Yes? Oh hey, Aunt Millie…“  
Ron took his jacket and left the house. Waiting for an end of the call was useless, for it wouldnt be until in 5 hours. 

They sat on the swings after school. Carl had a black eye. The teachers hadnt asked about it.   
„Why dont you go to the police?“  
„My father is the police.“  
„Carl, he will kill you if he goes on like this.“  
Before Carl could answer, his phone rang. „Shit. I have to go.“  
„Carl, wait. Hey, Carl, wait!“ He thought about revealing himself. Wings would be so much quicker than feet.  
Carl turned around at the corner. „Ron? Thanks. For everything. I really really like you, you are an awesome friend. I m sorry, I know you mean well. Hey, can you do me a favour?“  
„Anything.“  
„Pick Judith up from daycare in an hour?“

„Welcome to the last teacher meeting of this semster. Before we begin, is there anything anyone wants to bring forward?“  
Silence for a moment.   
„Yes. Me.“  
„Yes, Negan?“  
„I wanted to ask my colleges on behalf of Carl Grimes, 4 th grade. Anyone noticed any strange behaviour on his part?“  
„Why do you ask?“  
Negan swallowed. „It was brought to my attention, that there might be something wrong.“  
Silence.   
Then the math teacher answered lowley: „Carl scares easy. Do you mean that?“  
Negan closed his eyes for a moment. „Anyone think that he might be abused at home?“  
No one answered.   
„There has to be something we can do…“  
„The situation Carl is in might not be ideal, but his father is the only family he has got left. And he and his sister might get seperated. That would cause him more harm than it would do him good.“  
„But…“  
The phone in the corridor rang.  
The music teacher went to answer it.  
„Negan? Can you come?“, he called out.  
„Write it down, i ll call back.“  
„Negan! Its about Carl Grimes.“

How Ron Anderson had caught notice of the incident was beyond Negans understanding. It was beyond him how Carls friend hadnt fainted yet. The boy stood at Carls hospital bed like a statue. He held Carls hand through the torture of needles, IVs and tubes.  
He caressed Carls hair when his eyes flutterd and closed.   
„Its allright. Judy is safe. And you will be. I m so sorry, Carl. I love you. You…you can let go now. You can let go now, Carl. I ll take care of Judy. I promise. I m so sorry everyone looked away….“  
„I have to protect her. I have to protect her. He cant hurt her. I promised mummy i would beat this world…Tell Judy I love her…“  
„She knows…she knows…“  
On the white, cold hospital bed, with his lips still moving, Carl Grimes heart stopped beating. 

The boy was burried under white roses and lillies. The flowers of innocence, love and grief. Ron Anderson stood next to Negan and felt like the worst hypocrit left alive.   
„Its not your fault, Ron. You didnt do anything. Rick did.“  
Ron turned around and looked Negan in the eye. „Thats exactly right. I didnt do anything. Nobody did anything. You didnt do anything. And now he is dead because of that! I m off. He isnt here anymore anyway!“   
And before anyone could hold him back, Ron had stormed off.   
But he didnt storm off to nowhere. He ran to Carls house. The police was too busy investigating the crime scene. They hadnt even cared enough to dispose of Rick Grimes body, after the deputy had shot himself. Way to go for a man who beat his own kid to death, Ron thought. But right now he was worried about Rick Grimes other kid.   
And she was still there. Hidden in the closet in the laundry basket.   
Ron lifted her up and hid the sobbing little girl under his scarf.   
When he jumped out of the window his wings unfolded naturally. That will have consequences later, Ron thought. No messing in the lifes of humans.   
Ron sighed and looked at Judy, cuddled up under his scarf, allready closing her eyes trustingly.   
Screw it.

**Author's Note:**

> I m so sorry Dani. It wasnt your fault you couldnt help us.


End file.
